Science and Misinformation (Timeline)

“The good news is that people don’t necessarily believe it. The bad news is that they don’t necessarily believe valid information about the pandemic either.”

nature: Beware the illusion of certainty: it can be weaponized (June 9, 2020)

This article promotes a new book. “It is a fascinating interdisciplinary exploration of how scientists produce and use evidence. The COVID-19 crisis underscores their core message that science is a mostly productive cycle of rigorous scrutiny by experts, not a rational progression towards immutable facts. What is established one day is reconsidered the next — as anyone outside academia can now observe in real time. Science is powered by uncertainties, error margins, competition, disclaimers, collaboration and stress. In dark times, all of that can be weaponized.”

SciAm: Which Experts Should You Listen to during the Pandemic? (June 8, 2020)

“But one general lesson for outsiders is that the best recipe for making an impact is through collaboration with experts trained in the relevant discipline.”
“Even the most highly educated and successful among us are not immune to gullibility. Humility about the limits of our own knowledge is imperative, including when trying to identify true expertise in others. Seeking knowledge—now as much as ever—means keeping an open mind, checking sources conscientiously, and sometimes admitting “I don’t know.” Being prepared to make that last confession may be the surest way to ensure our future arrival at the truth.”

STAT: CDC: Some Americans are misusing cleaning products — including drinking them — in effort to kill coronavirus (June 5, 2020)

According to responses on an online survey of 502 adults by the CDC:
- 19% applied bleach to food,
- 18% put household cleaners on their skin,
- 10% sprayed disinfectant on themselves
- 6% had inhaled vapors of cleaning products
- 4% drank or gargled with diluted bleach, soap, or other disinfectants
“These practices pose a risk of severe tissue damage and corrosive injury and should be strictly avoided,” – CDC researchers

nature: The pandemic mixed up what scientists study – and some won’t go back
(June 5, 2020)

“Experts say that research into infectious diseases is likely to enjoy a higher profile as a result of the pandemic, but that will depend heavily on whether governments alter their funding patterns in the long term.”

BBC: How Bill Gates became the voodoo doll of Covid conspiracies (June 5, 2020)

nature: ‘It opens up a whole new universe’: Revolutionary microscopy technique sees individual atoms for first time (June 3, 2020)

This is exciting for researching at the molecular level and will surely be put to good use to better understand SARS-CoV-2. – MH

Science: Scientists rush to defend Venezuelan colleagues threatened over coronavirus study (June 2, 2020)

According to a May 8 18-page scientific report by a Venezuelan scientific academy, mathematical models project between 1000 and 4000 cases daily during a peak sometime between June and September.
This was criticized by the government that is considering punishing the academy for making it look like the government is lying about the severity of the pandemic.
Scientists in Venezuela and worldwide have voiced their support of the academy.

I try to avoid any kind of political discussion, as this site is dedicated to science. My reason for including this article is to show how science is a “social endeavor”, whereby scientists will generally support the research of other scientists’ work when it is based on science that can be verified and does not contradict widely accepted evidence. Moreover, by including this article on my News Timeline, readers will observe by September how accurate the projections are. – MH

NYT: How You Should Read Coronavirus Studies, or Any Science Paper (June 1, 2020)

Shareable Science: Misinformation (May 29, 2020)

One interesting point regards how people are not comfortable with “uncertainty”.

One of the best reports of why there is misinformation. – MH

nature: Coronavirus misinformation needs researchers to respond (May 27, 2020)

“Researchers must be transparent and acknowledge what is known and what isn’t.”
“It might be that a definite answer isn’t known, or that there are a range of possible answers. That is often the case in science. The study and practice of public engagement in science has shown that involving communities in the kinds of conversations that researchers have — conversations about how scientists search for evidence, and being transparent about what is known and not known — all helps to create and maintain trust.”

I agree that researchers should be communicating more with the public about what it knows, what it doesn’t know and how science research is done. Otherwise it is too easy for the brightest of individuals to be misinformed. – MH

CNBC: Why scientists are changing their minds and disagreeing during the coronavirus pandemic (May 23, 2020)

Reuters: False claim: A COVID-19 vaccine will genetically modify humans (May 18, 2020)

PopSci: Where to find trustworthy information about COVID-19 and other health issues
(May 16, 2020)

I think the best way to combat misinformation online, in particular regarding controversial theories, is to present scientific information – as the vast majority of scientists understand it – at the right time, in the right place in the right way. We should not censor information, but we should make it clear to the public when most scientists are not in agreement with a particular “outlier” theory and explain why. Otherwise, the public gets the impression that the authorities are trying to suppress the truth. Science, because it deals with “objective truth” has the power to enlighten when people are honest and open to explaining it and understanding it. – MH

Doctor Mike: Doctor Fact-Checks PLANDEMIC Conspiracy (VIDEO) (May 10, 2020)

Science: Fact-checking Judy Mikovits, the controversial virologist attacking Anthony Fauci in a viral conspiracy video (May 8, 2020)

In [the movie] Plandemic, a former chronic fatigue syndrome researcher makes countless unsubstantiated claims and accusations

CSM: Behind coronavirus lockdown protests, questions of whom to trust (April 22, 2020)

NPR: Did You Fall For A Coronavirus Hoax? Facebook Will Let You Know (April 16, 2020)

UN: During this coronavirus pandemic, ‘fake news’ is putting lives at risk: UNESCO
(April 13, 2020)

The UN warns that there is a great amount of misinformation (myths) about Covid-19 spreading around the world, which can lead to many deaths.